Start your Halloween Weekend the best way – with poutine!

The poutine concoctions, created by five brewery chefs (from Portland Brewing Company, Deschutes Brewery, Breakside Brewing, Sasquatch Brewing, and Rogue Ales & Spirits), are each built upon a base of French fries, beer-infused gravy, and Face Rock’s Vampire Slayer cheese curds.

Visit the taproom between 11am and 7pm on Thursday, order the $10 poutine sampler ($16 with beer pairings), and vote for the People’s Choice Award. The main event, MCed by Cassidy Quinn of KGW takes place between 6pm and 8pm; when the winners of the People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice awards will be announced.

Half the proceeds of the poutine and poutine pairings will be given to the Friendly House. Face Rock Creamery matches the donation!

Join Heather Arndt Anderson and Finn J D John of the Stumptown Stories troupe for a night of eating and drinking safe, delicious food and beverages, while talking about the bad old days and their unsafe, impure (but still delicious!) food and drugs.

The appearance of modern markets across America, with their brightly lit aisles, sparkling glass cases and fresh foods, is in no small part thanks to the efforts of one Portland woman more than a century ago: Lilian Tingle. Heather will have the full story.

Then Finn will talk about the patent-medicine swindlers of the 1890s to 1910s — the fellows who rolled into town in a wagon with a fiddle and hawked tapeworm eggs and hardcore opiates that would cure the everlasting hell out of whatever was bothering you. This will be topped off with a story of a swindler from Albany whose erectile-dysfunction cure was so scammy, it got him prosecuted by the American Medical Association. (We’re saving this part for last, because you’re going to want to have a few drinks on board before you hear how this “cure” worked.)

Stumptown Stories, batshit crazy stories from the murkiest, weirdest, and nuttiest corners of Portland history, takes place the second Tuesday of every month at the Jack London.

Saturday

The 19th Annual Alberta Street Fair, presented by Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care, is Saturday, August 13, 2016. The Fair offers an eclectic mix of activities and events that could only be found on Alberta Street and showcases the best of the Alberta Street community. The event features entertainment, music, vendors, food and drink for people of all ages.

Join the fun on the waterfront at the family-friendly event of the summer!

The Port of Portland’s Terminal 2 will open up for a unique opportunity to go inside the fences of a working marine terminal, normally closed to the public. Best of all, parking and admission are free!

Experience Portland’s thriving working harbor by jumping on a jet boat ride, or throw on a helmet and try your hand at welding. Enjoy interactive booths from harbor businesses. From great musicians and delicious food, to thrilling activities for all ages, Seaport Celebration is the event not to be missed!

Sunday

Bring your friends and family and come to Pioneer Courthouse Square for a free taste of Indian Culture! Get ready to experience a day of back-to-back dances, musical performances, and food from Portland’s finest Indian restaurants.

Don’t miss out on a memorable event that draws crowds from all over the West Coast!

Friday

Because nothing says celebration quite like fireworks, the Portland Rose Festival gets the festivities started off on an awe-inspiring note. This year you’re invited to join us for an amazing night of fireworks!

Be there on Friday, May 27 for the Opening Night Fireworks presented by Oregonian | OregonLive, the Portland Rose Festival’s kick-off event. The fireworks will be choreographed to music provided by Live 95.5.

All Weekend

It’s Excessive Celebration for everyone as the Rose Festival’s waterfront activities kick off on May 27 at 5:00 p.m. for Memorial Day weekend and three consecutive weekends at Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park (May 27-May 30, June 2-5 and June 9-12, 2016).

Bees are arguably one of the most important insect groups on the planet. Despite their importance, bees are remarkably misunderstood by most people. For example, it is commonly thought that the U.S. and Canada are home to just a handful of bumble bees, sweat bees, and honey bees. In fact there are over 4,000 species. Many people list ‘hives’ ‘stings’ and ‘colony collapse disorder’ among ‘facts’ about bees. The truth is infinitely more fascinating than this simple list suggests, filled with the same twists and turns, complexities, horrors, and delights that an hour long television show provides each evening. This talk aims to dispel the common myths of bees, and will provide engaging accounts of the bees encountered in this region of the world, with clues for telling these stunning creatures apart.

The presenter is Joe Wilson, assistant professor of biology at Utah State University – Tooele (USU).

The Portland Science Pub takes place monthly at the Empirical Theater at OMSI. Check in at the theater entrance to reserve your seat (doors open at 5 PM) – there’s a $5 suggested admission. Food – which you’re welcome to bring into the theater for the show – in available at the restaurant Theory or the Empirical Café. Theory serves wood fire pizza, salads and salt & straw ice cream.

Parking is free for the event, but OMSI is mere steps away from the Tilikum Crossing buses, streetcar, and MAX; and only a few blocks from the Hawthorne Bridge’s multiple bus lines.